the marriage prescriptions of the 1950s could be summed up in one sentence: it was mainly a woman’s job to foster a happy marriage and steer it away from divorce. emily mudd, for instance, outlined the many roles that women had to assume when they became wives. if a husband did come home, it was also his wife’s duty to make sure that he didn’t cheat in the future.

could you have stressed your contribution to your marriage in such …